The record industry is about to launch a major initiative against piracy by beginning the widespread distribution of copy-protected CDs. And one result, perhaps unintended, is that the plan could end up giving a boost to online music stores. But another potential result is that consumers could become so frustrated with the music industry that they seek out peer-to-peer networks in even greater numbers.

There's news today about the Swedish wireless marketer Ericsson, which will market a mobile music service with Napster. The service will enable consumers to download music to their wireless phones. It's a nifty idea that we think will prove popular with 18- to 24-year-olds.

In the late 1990s, as dot-coms were sprouting right and left and entrepreneurs wanted nothing other than to be first, the phrase "Internet time" entered the public lexicon.

Amid news of mergers and acquisitions in the online space (Gannett/Pointroll and Scripps/Shopzilla), comes word of a new and distinct Internet domain for adult entertainment.

There's no real question that the emergence of paid search, estimated to account for somewhere around half of all online ad dollars, has changed the Internet advertising landscape. Not only did sponsored search listings pull new media out of the dot-com bust, but pay-per-click listings have continued to surge even as marketers are again paying for online branding campaigns.

I damn near had mint mochaccino coming out of my nose the other morning when a Verizon insert dropped from the Times and into my lap. "Verizon Online DSL - $29.95 vs. Optimum Online - $44.95," it announced above a silhouette of some cowboy dude holding a power plug by his hip and asking, "Who will be the last one standing?"

Finally, a conference that wasn't dominated by the nuts and bolts of search. Really.

We've heard it all a million times. Consumers are in control and they're feeding on multiple media options each day. So what do they have to do with integrated marketing?

Day One: MediaPost's OMMA-West Conference and Expo is off and running in sunny, breezy San Francisco.

Frustrated fans of the Apple iPod are a little happier this week.